Friday, July 31, 2009

Add this one to your bucket list my friends. Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is an awesome place! Five large floors of eye candy that will have you slobbering like a drunken fool as soon as you walk in the door. You'll be so mezmerised by the uniqueness and beauty of these fine machines that it just leaves you with a feeling of... Wow!

It is said that this museum has one of every motorcycle ever made. When I asked at the admissions desk about a book, the nice girl revealed that a book of the entire collection will be published when the rest of the collection is displayed. They only have 2/3 of the inventory out on display, while other 1/3 is still in the basement being made ready for their rightful place in the collection.

Of course I have my favorites, but I decided to prepare a slide show for you to sit back, relax, turn your speakers on and enjoy a stroll through this wonderful collection of vintage bikes.

I was very pleased we decided to come up and see this place, not to mention the awesome ride we had coming up Hwy. 25 to get here. I plan to devote an entire post to Hwy. 25 at a later date, as I like to consider it our little Alabama version of the Dragon's Tail. Woo Hoo! I want to bring my friends here so I'm glad I'll get to go back and visit this very nice museum again. It's like biker heaven... only right here in Alabama. Sweet!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Yesterday afternoon, while I was getting our dinner together, I asked Harley what he thought of my pic choice for yesterday's Pic Of The Week entry. He just shrugged and said, "It's okay." I said, "Just okay? Was it too lame?" He just looked at me and squeezed up his right cheek like we was winking and said, "Out of all the pictures you have... that's your pic of the week?"

Hmmmm, nuff said. He threw down the gauntlet and challenged me to rise to the occasion. So in the interest of bringing my readers the best I have to offer... I decided to post more candy for the peeps. Consider this a Tuesday Treat.

1925 BOHMERLAND

The Bohmerland is one of the most unusual machines in the history of motorcycles. Designed to seat three people in tandem, some versions were almost ten feet long. Originating in Czechoslovakia, this 20 h.p., 700 lbs. machine could pull a top speed of 60 m.p.h. Approximatley 1000 of these were built between 1924 and 1939 and only a handful remain. This machine is the oldest Bohmerland known to exist.

For those of you who don't get turned on by road shots, I hope this little bit of fluff helps you make it through your week.

Monday, July 27, 2009

HATCHET CREEKHarley and I had a great weekend riding all around this beautiful state I now call home. We logged over 500 miles in two days and had a great time doing it! During one of our stretch breaks I had the opportunity to get this picture of County Road 29 at the bridge that crosses Hatchet Creek, a few miles west of Rockford. This windy gem of a road is one of our favorites roads to ride and we often stop here to take a few minutes to enjoy the peace and quiet of this place.I hope you saw my teaser post on Saturday of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. Awesome day! I'll try to have my slide show of beautiful bikes ready for viewing soon.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

I just received the email letting me know that the new Harley Davidson catalog will hitting the dealerships by the end of July. They used the submitted pictures over 1000 H-D owners and riders and created a Harley Davidson Mosaic for the front cover. It's pretty awesome and reminds me of the game... "Where's Waldo".

If you submitted a pic, then you'll be getting an email giving you a code so you can find yourself pretty easily. When I looked for my pic, I was pleasantly surprised to notice that Dean from over at D-Day is only three pics away from me! They said the online version may have your pic in a slightly different location than the actual cover, but it will be pretty close. There is a guide in the upper right corner so you can scroll up or down and left or right through the mosaic and see all the wonderful pictures. If your interested... Dean and I are in the upper left corner, just inside and to the right of the orange stripe that makes up the left point of the shield (between the stripe and the letter M).

So get out your magnifiers and find a comfy chair and peruse through all the faces and machines of our many Harley brothers and sisters. Not only can you keep your H-D catalog handy for making your wish list for Christmas, but you can keep yourself entertained by looking for friends, old and new and keeping a tally of how many you find.

Thanks Harley for putting a little fun into it. This one will be a keeper!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Yesterday was my birthday, so to help me celebrate my 49 years of breathing in and out, Harley took the day off so we could hit the road together. I had one of the best rides ever to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Leeds, Alabama. We logged about 270 miles, enjoyed some exciting twisties, and feasted our eyes on some beautiful motorcycles. I can't believe this place is so close to me and I'm just getting around to seeing it.

They say there is one of every kind of motorcycle ever made in this building. Five floors of displays, and this in only two thirds of the entire collection. The other third is stashed in the basement being readied to take their rightful place on the museum floor.I have a lot to share with you, but since I'm going riding again today, (of course!) that post will have to wait. Instead, I thought I would throw you this little tease... just to wet your appetite.Have a nice Saturday and keep the shiny side up!

Monday, July 20, 2009

PEEK A BOO!We stopped by the Confederate Memorial Park near Marbury that same day we rode up to Moundville. While we were stretching our legs and enjoying a cold drink, it appears as though our Glides are sharing their own quiet time with each other.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Back during May sometime, Harley and I took off for the Moundville Archaeological Park as our destination for our ride that day. This historic park, located on Hwy. 69, 15 miles south of Tuscaloosa, overlooks the Black Warrior River and covers about 320 acres that preserves 26 prehistoric, Mississippian era Indian mounds. Visitors can stroll along a boardwalk nature trail winding through the forest and along the river, scale the Temple Mound and view a life sized diorama of ancient Indian rituals in their on site Museum. Camping and picnic areas are also available throughout the grounds.

Since I've already used two pictures from this day as my Pics Of The Week, I figured I'd better hurry up and bring you the rest of the story.

The Moundville site was home for a settlement of Mississippian culture from 1000 A.D. until 1450 A.D. The abundance of luscious thick grass covering the large mounds of earth and the flat areas between them was like looking at a hilly field of plush green carpet. As I rode through on the paved path, it was fun to imagine that over 800 years ago this peaceful quiet place was once alive with activity as the largest settlement in North America.One of the most impressive sites for me was this massive stairway going to the top of the Temple Mound which overlooked the other smaller mounds on the grounds.This reminds me of an awesome movie Mel Gibson produced called Apocalypto, about the Mayan Indian and how they would sacrifice each other to the Gods to bring them favor. The movie starts out with a dominate tribe sacrificing the warriors from a weaker less significant tribe. First they cut the heart out the man while he's still alive, then cut off his head and drop it down the steps, letting it roll and bounce down these massive stairs, landing at the feet of the those standing below. Pretty gruesome! As I stood there looking up, I could imagine the horrific site of a head bouncing down the stairs flinging blood along the way and landing right on my boots! Ick.

Harley wanted no part of climbing those stairs, but I knew I would get some great shots up there, so I went up by myself. Once at the top, I could look over the whole park see the other mounds spread out across the grounds.My ol' girl looks so small from way up here doesn't she?

There is a nice big air conditioned pavilion overlooking the river that serves as a great venue for large gatherings and parties. The place was empty while we were there, so we could take our time stretching our legs and looking at the water below.The view from here was beautiful!

We're always trying to find new places to ride to and now I'm glad we took the time to check this place out. I would say, if you ever find yourself riding through the central Alabama area, the Moundville Archaeological Park is worth a look see. There's something nice and relaxing about cranking it down a notch and cruising through the peaceful grounds.

I enjoy my nice long summer day rides. Harley and I don't always have specific destinations in mind, but sometimes we just pick a direction and start riding. Either way we usually end up having something unique to remember about each ride. I hope to share more of my collection of "somethings" as I continue to explore the beauty of the south.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Author's note: To all the Derby girls... sorry this is so late, but here it is. Finally. Enjoy!

What does a biker chick do when she's not riding her bike? Why, frolic with the fillies, of course! Some of you may remember the annual Kentucky Derby party I attended and posted about last Spring called The Derby Challenge. To my delight, the Spring Thunder Beach Rally is also held during the first weekend in May, at Panama City, Florida... my second home, away from home.

Following the annual rally at Holt (shew!), this second of a back to back weekend of high energy fun is a challenge in itself. But hey, I have four days to get my sh*t together and put my party hat back on and dive in for round two! A Friday night of "Happy Hour" that usually carries on long past an hour, followed by a big day of fashion competition, mint juleps (or beer!) and oh... a little friendly "pay and play" of the horses too!

Playing dress up is usually a little girls favorite thing to do, and I guess we never really grow out of it. We just manage to keep it in check some how. Or do we? That must be another reason I like riding motorcycles so much... I can dress up in leather, and no one is the wiser! One of the rules of the party is... dress as you like, but your attire must include a hat and gloves. We have fun with this and hold contests for who has "The Best of..." Hat, Gloves, and Shoes. We give a special award for the "Best Overall", and we always end up passing out a "Horse's Ass" award too. You just never know what a little friendly competition brings, when your dealing with a bunch of sweet southern ladies!

Red Light Roxanne won "The Best Hat" last year so she was the hostess with the mostess for our Derby Challenge of 2009. She goes all out when preparing for an event, and this party was no exception. We laughed at her rendition of what the Derby hostess should look like, in her "Maid to Derby" ensemble. You can always count on Red Light Roxanne to take it to the extreme, but a good time was guaranteed to be had! Woo Hoo!

We rolled out the "Red Carpet" for our competition platform, and everyone took their turn strutting their stuff. You can just imagine how fun and funny a bunch of ladies can be, when we decide to get our "freak" on. Especially when we don't have any reason to be shy here! As I've stated before, this is a ladies only event (with the exception of the bartender, Mr. Ed, who's harmless!), so there's no reason to hold back. And some didn't! Woo Hoo... oops! (Sorry folks, private joke here) Let's just say that the moon comes out at funny times... even daytime!

Without further ado, take a gander at this years winners.Best Hat (The Marvelous Ms. M)Best Gloves (Dancing Queen)Best Shoes (Sweet As Honey)Best Overall (Crazy Chick)Our Beloved Horse's AssDue to the sensitive nature of our Horse's Ass Award, the recipient wishes to remain anonymous. Truth be known... if it were'nt for her, we wouldn't even have this category! LOL! We Love you!! ;)

By time the horses are in the gate and the race actually starts, we've been in full swing for a couple hours, so we are primed and ready for action. I mentioned at the beginning of this post, that we "pay and play" for the winning horse. In order of fairness, we draw the horse numbers out of a hat, so it's really just a game of chance. Red Light Roxanne's sister was another first timer at our little party, and lucky for her... she had drawn the winning horse!

Congratulations to the Elder YaYa! She looks pretty happy!

Here's a little something I put together I like to call... DOWN AND DERBY!

I just love these ladies and my time with them is such a treat! I look forward to my Derby Challenge each year, and I am always trying to come up with a great "outfit" for the occasion. Maybe next year, I'll have to go as the Lady in Black... Black Leather that is!

Monday, July 13, 2009

ROLLIN' IN THE HAYI just love this big white farm house with it's lush green pasture and rain fed fish ponds. We pass by this property often, as it sits on one of our well traveled roads, Hwy 231, just south of Rockford, Alabama. I like to imagine myself living a quiet and uncomplicated life when I see this place.

There are several very pretty properties canvasing the countryside in our beautiful rural Alabama. I usually don't have the opportunity to snap pictures of my viewpoint from the road, so fortunately, riding in the pillion seat Saturday gave me that chance. Hmmm... seemed like old times!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Dear Diary... a glimpse into the pages of a journal written by a woman rider.

July 5, 2009

Dear Diary,Once again, I found myself following my fearless leader, Harley, down the road while we took ourselves to Panama City for the 4th of July weekend. Only this time, I rode my own Glide and Harley was in his own truck. A simple back tire replacement earlier in the week, lead to the discovery that his Street Glide had a loose bearing. Warranty work... good. Had to order part... bad. He didn't get his bike out in time for the weekend.

We changed out my seat and put the tour pack back on, so we could ride two up, once we got there. He offered to put my Glide on the trailer so I could ride in the truck with him and our puppies, in the comfort of the A/C. Panama City is a nice 185 miles, and even though it's pretty hot, I still wanted to ride. So... Harley took the lead, and I followed. With his radar detector on and roaming, we were able to clip along at a nice pace, making my ride even more enjoyable. The sun was high in the sky and the wind felt warm on my face as I relaxed and took it all in. It wasn't long before we settled into our normal riding rhythm as if we were both on two. Anyone following us for any length of time would have noticed the graceful synchronization of the blue Ford truck and the black Electra Glide as we maneuvered together, through holiday traffic. We came up on a dead possum or something and Harley drifted so far over to the right, his right tires were on the shoulder of the road. He could have easily straddled it, but as my own personal "road captain", he has a habit of kicking his right or left foot out, to warn me of upcoming road kill or other hazards that need to be avoided. Since he couldn't do that, he'd position his truck to the far left or far right of his lane, to signal my warnings. I smiled to myself at the reaction he got from other drivers who no doubt thought he was crazy for swerving so.

We got to Panama City without any problems and had a fabulous 4th of July weekend with our friends. Sunday morning, as we headed back home, we stopped to get gas before we got out of Florida. During our pit stop, Harley revealed to me that I may get wet. The radio was telling of an upcoming storm in the Montgomery area and he was hoping it held off until we got there. We decided to forgo any more stops and just get our butts home.

Traffic was pretty heavy and we did our best to find our comfortable rhythm, but it was like maneuvering through a moving parking lot. It was really hot again today and I was getting pretty thirsty. I was beginning to wonder if my decision not to stop needed to be retracted. As we approached one of the stop lights near Ozark, I noticed Harley had his window down and was dangling a travel mug out the window as if to say, "want some?" I split the lane and pulled up along side of him and said, "hey mister, got something to drink?" I took two long draws on the straw and was rewarded instantly with the cool refreshing taste of sweet tea. I should have known... Harley loves his sweet tea!

At three more lights along the way, he put his mug out there and I would pull up along side and take my drinks. By the time we were about to leave the city limits of Troy, I told him I was good and we can book it the rest of the way home. I wonder what the folks around us thought. "Look at that nice truck driver giving that hot thirsty rider a drink... how sweet."

We were about 15 miles from home when the sky opened up. I noticed Harley tap his brakes as he slowed down. He waved me around him, and as I rode passed, he pointed forward, for me to take the lead. I guess he figured if anyone was going to ride behind me in a hard rain storm, it was going to be him. I had been riding under the blazing sun for three hours now, was hot and tired, and I welcomed the cooling rain on my skin. It felt soooo good!

We pulled into the driveway and I got off the bike and thought... that was great! Riding by myself made me feel a little vulnerable at times because I feel there is safety in numbers, even if it's just the two of us. I crossed paths with a couple other solo riders during our trip down and back, and as I waved I wondered, are they really alone? I'm glad I chose to ride, and with Harley leading the way, I knew I would be fine.

Monday, July 6, 2009

THE ENCHANTED PONDThis beautiful gold fish pond is in Dubuque's Eagle Point Park. As a little girl, I used to play on these rocks with my cousins and friends, and imagine I was in an enchanted forest. This small gold fish pond and layers of rock steps would keep us kids entertained for hours with thoughts of fairy tales and childs play.

When I was back home recently, my youngest brother was with Harley and I when we stopped at "the pond" for a little trip down memory lane. I was recounting some of these childhood memories out loud when he laughed at me and said, "Yeah, it's a great place to get a blow job too!"

My... how things changed! LOL!!!

I hope you all had a nice 4th of July weekend. We certainly did! Have a great Monday everybody!